Less money, fewer problems? More college graduates take on public service jobs

Are the days of investment banking and financial consulting over? Probably not. However, increasing numbers of college graduates are opting for careers in public service, detailed in this story by the New York Times. According to national statistics, 16 percent more college graduates took on jobs in government, while 11 percent more young people aligned their careers with non-profit work - and this is just in 2009. The number of applications for AmeriCorps has tripled from 2008 to 2010. Since the start of the recession three years ago, the private sector has given up 7 percent of its jobs, while the public sector has increased hiring by more than 3 percent.

The recession, though no doubt a trying time for those of us without generous trust funds, has done some good, after all. More young people are contributing their intelligence and energy to social projects and non-profit work, given the difficulty of finding jobs in the corporate sector when straight out of school . The greatest test of who's in the non-profit game circumstantially and whose heart has been won by a social cause will occur when the economic crisis lets up a bit, making those corporate jobs available yet again. In any case, these past few years have been a boon for the non-profit community, and college students who have encountered closed doors have certainly done a good job of finding those open windows...

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